The Liberals have promised to introduce legislation forcing any budget surpluses to be directed to pay down the province’s debt if they are elected on June 7.The pledge is considered the “anchor” of their full platform, which was released Saturday online — and a day before the final leaders’ debate Sunday night.It’s largely based on the Liberals’ spring budget which included free child care, more money for hospitals, mental-health funding, help for seniors to pay for home maintenance, and some dental benefits.That now leaves the Progressive Conservatives as the only party without a fully costed platform.“We will legislate what has been a practice, which is at the end of the year when there has been overachievement on our plan — which we have in the order of about $2.5 billion a year — that we could legislate, so there would be no flexibility on what would happen with that money,” Premier (and Liberal Leader) Kathleen Wynne said Saturday at her sole campaign event, held in the backyard of a home near Gerrard St. and Coxwell Ave.The money “would go toward reducing the debt,” added Wynne. “It’s a legislative framework that actually reflects good financial management.”The provincial debt has doubled in the last decade, and now sits at about $325 billion.The NDP released its platform in mid-April, though has since had to adjust its numbers after a $1.4-billion mistake was uncovered.To date, Liberal candidates have been campaigning on the government’s spring budget though last week Wynne also announced that the Liberals would help in the creation of “portable pensions” for workers as they move from job to job.The Liberals are third in the polls, something Wynne addressed Saturday by saying “I’m not under any illusions about that … but I would say that I’ve been in tough places before, we’ve been in tough places before.“S ...
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